Understand Buffer; How 'Bout TB Pedals In A TB Looper?

[CBA]

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[Scruffie]

Line6 DL-4 (which is true bypass if not on the looper, right?)

Buffered I beleive, as far as I know all Line6 stuff is.

optional Crybaby 535Q (depending on whom I am performing with; leaving a space for it) >

That's got a buffer too, although not quite in the traditional sense, either way, it's not true bypass.

Digitech Whammy 4 >

Got a Buffer in it too.

Can any "boost" pedal be a buffer?

No, Boosting boosts the signal, buffing keeps the original intact, it's an impeadance thing over gain & volume.

Basically, Fuzzes tend not to like Buffers & Wahs infront of them... some don't mind but others do, they may react differently or make other pedals behave strangely so generally the suggestion is to have the fuzzes infront of everything but then your wah might not work quite as desired depending on your combos... buffers can be good at the start and end of a chain of pedals, they make up for the signal loss through all those metres of cable.

So have a bit of a mix around, if the Wah is optional then maybe you'll be okay with just fuzz at the start then the rest of the stuff wherever you feel like it... it's a very broad subject that i'm sure some others will have some input on... just takes time and reshuffles.

[CBA]

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[devnulljp]

I've been reading up, because of a few chance mentions on different sites, on buffers and just what the hell they are/do exactly.

What they do is make your nice vintage and hand-built fuzzes sound like crap
You got so many buffers in there anyway (the tuner, the wah, the whammy, the DL4 are all buffered) you're not going to need another dedicated buffer. Maye if you're planning doing an Albert Collins with a 200 ft guitar lead, but even then.
How's the Shoegazer hold up sandwiched in between that lot?

[CBA]

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[Teej212]

dl4 is true bypass

[CBA]

Nobody knows I'm new wave.

[oldangelmidnight]

No, Boosting boosts the signal, buffing keeps the original intact, it's an impeadance thing over gain & volume.

I've never really understood this.
What's the difference between impedance, gain and volume?

[CBA]

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[CBA]

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[Blurillaz]

Putting the Shoegazer and Fairfield Barbershop as bookends on a 4-loop looper would just be a waste, wouldn't it?

No

[tuffteef]

69 DUDES

[CBA]

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[Communarchy]

Let's see if we can make this a bit simpler for you.......commence long ass post....

Buffers are usually necessary when running a long chain of effects/cabling due to signal degradation through the long length of cable that the signal has to travel down. Your chain does not appear to me to be that big (this is coming from someone who runs 18 pedals at all time, with 3 buffered pedals, a Whammy 4, a Boss Giga Delay, and a Morley Little Gator volume pedal). Signal degradation usually occurs in the form of losing high frequency (and very rarely, low frequencies, with shitty buffered pedals from the 70s and 80s). A buffer evens out this signal loss by effecting the signal impedance. While a boost does not do the same thing, a boost would in effect help to strengthen the signal and retain high end loss as most boost tend to add a little high end. While I've never had any problems with buffers before my fuzzes (and I have 7 on my board), I also run a mild amount of compression first which will (1) slightly boost your output signal (2) give a little shimmer to the top end. I also run a boost after my fuzz chain and before the volume, whammy and delay. Why? I just love my boost, it's always on and it does add the perfect amount of top end clarity.

The Crybaby Q's buffer sucks. I've had that wah, and while it's a great effect, the buffer does suck (tone). I've not heard any noticeable degradation through the whammy or most boss effects; their buffer is good. The real question is in a detail you have left out: what amp are you playing into and does treble and high end make up a good portion of your preferred tone?? Again, I don't notice a significant difference between plugging into my chain and plugging in directly into my amp. But I also play a Marshall (treble bite for days) and a vintaged pup'ed Jazzmaster (also will bite your head off with the tone up all the way up). So a little bit of high end loss probably helps me at the end of the day. I feel as if those who are most worried about signal degradation are those who use humbuckers, which have a naturally darker tone. They need all the high end they can use to keep their cleans from sounding like mud. I remember when using an old 80s ibanez delay and flanger with my LP (with modern, high output humbuckers), the pedals would fuck everything up. Using the same pedals with my tele or jazzmaster, didn't bother me: I roll a little and a moderate amount of tone off anyway (respectively) when using those guitars.

So in the end, there's no quick and dirty rule. If you are experiencing tone loss because of your wah and whammy, TB loop those suckers out of your chain. And, no, I don't even understand why you would think putting a shoegazer after your loop and a high quality od before your loop would be a problem. Most people put whammy's and pitch shifters first in chain, to get the cleanest, unaffected signal. I don't, but that's because I love when I run a high gain fuzz into the whammy and turn it on; it becomes like a digital wash. Further, if the wah doesn't effect the sound of your shoegazer being before it in-chain, more power to you. But I personally like wah after fuzz, because I'm a noisy motha fukka.

Bottom line: if you like how it sounds, do it. No one here is gonna tell you the "proper" way of setting up your effects chain, though it's good to know how these things interact with each other. But there is ALWAYS exceptions to any "rule."

[CBA]

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